Winter Jigsaw Puzzles

Start with something that is not white

Every snow scene has a few anchors, and they are where to begin. In Winter Lane beneath Fresh Snow it is the dry stone walls and the gate. In Red Fox in a Snowy Birch Grove it is the birch trunks, black and white stripes you can line up one above the other. Pull those pieces out first and build them into columns, then the snow between them has somewhere to go.

Once the anchors are in, sort the snow itself by texture instead of color. Powder on a branch, a footprint, the crust along a fence and flat open ground all look different up close, even when the color is the same.

Animals in the snow

The birds are the friendliest place to start. Cardinal Pair in Falling Snow and Robin on a Snowy Fence are bright birds against soft white, so they work for children at 24 or 50 pieces.

The dogs are a different story. Samoyed in Fresh Snow is a white dog in a white field, and at 300 pieces it is a real test. The fur is your only guide, so look for its direction and the faint gray shadow under the chin. Husky Team in Snow Harness is easier, with dark backs and a line of harness straps to follow.

Towns, parks and a castle

Lamps and lit windows make the town scenes much easier than they first look. First Snow on a Village Footbridge and Sleigh Ride through a Snowy Village have warm orange light falling on the snow, and that glow lets you place pieces that would be lost in daylight. Snow in Central Park has the same trick in the water, where the skyline reflects in gold. Neuschwanstein in Winter is all towers and roofs on top, with a big snowy hillside below to save for the end.

The long ones

For a project over several evenings, three stand out. Ice Cave with a Frozen Waterfall is blue from edge to edge, so the shapes of the ice do all the work. Curling Stones on Fresh Ice looks simple until you reach the open rink, which is almost one color. Aurora Reflected in an Ice Lake is a smooth run of green and violet, top and bottom. At 600 or 1000 pieces, expect to sort by piece shape for most of the night.

When the holidays are over

Festive scenes, from the tree to the gingerbread house, are on the Christmas puzzles page. These winter ones carry on through January and February. If the family has gone home after the holidays, you can still build one of them together from different houses in a multiplayer room.